Halftime Report

Illinois is on the road but looking no worse for wear. They are fully in control with a 50-26 lead over Duquesne.

Illinois entered the contest having won five straight and they're just one half away from another. Will they make it six, or will Duquesne step up and spoil it? We'll know soon.

Who's Playing

Duquesne Dukes @ Illinois Fighting Illini

Current Records: Duquesne 20-11, Illinois 23-8

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What to Know

The Duquesne Dukes and the Illinois Fighting Illini will face of in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at 8:40 p.m. ET on Saturday at CHI Health Center Omaha. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as the Dukes come in on nine and the Fighting Illini on five.

Duquesne earned some postseason bragging rights after a successful outing on Thursday. They managed a 71-67 win over BYU.

Duquesne's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Dae Dae Grant, who scored 19 points. Grant didn't help Duquesne's cause all that much against VCU on Sunday but the same can't be said for this match. Jakub Necas was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with six rebounds and three blocks.

Illinois meant business on Thursday, getting buckets from all over the court against a Eagles squad that has allowed just 63.43 points per contest. Illinois strolled past Morehead State with points to spare, taking the game 85-69. Winning is a bit easier when you work as a team to post ten more assists than your opponent, as the Fighting Illini did.

Dain Dainja and Terrence Shannon Jr. were among the main playmakers for Illinois as the former scored 21 points along with eight rebounds and two blocks and the latter scored 26 points along with two steals and two blocks. Shannon Jr. is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 25 or more in the last five games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Marcus Domask, who dropped a triple-double on 12 points, 11 rebounds, and ten assists.

Duquesne has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 games, which provided a nice bump to their 25-11 record this season. As for Illinois, their win bumped their record up to 27-8.

Duquesne is hoping to beat the odds on Saturday, as the experts think they're headed for a loss. For those looking to play the spread, watch out: Duquesne is expected to win, but their 9-14 record against the spread as such isn't exactly encouraging.

Odds

Illinois is a big 10.5-point favorite against Duquesne, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Fighting Illini as a 9.5-point favorite.


The over/under is 148 points.

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